Mod Applications

[Nihilego]

Disclaimer: This thread does not indicate that we are going to introduce, or are considering introducing, mod applications.

Thought this'd be interesting. What do you guys think of mod applications - in both a general and PC specific context? If you were writing a mod application form, what sort of questions would you ask in it? Similarly, what sort of responses would you look for to these questions and why? How would you identify the best candidates following the initial applications? Anything else relevant?

 

[Sonata]

For choosing a mod there would probably be a checklist and you'd have to meet like at least 80% of the checklist to be considered to be a mod candidate. A mod application form should be more of like a writing prompt. You're given some basic guidelines and then set free to write whatever you want and not really be bound by here's a question now answer it, here's another question 25 more times. It could be really clever actually because you could disguise it as like a demographics survey saying things like make sure to cover what times you're most active and what forums you're most active in as well as what kinds of skills you have that are useful on PC. Things like how often you check back into threads after you've already posted in them would be good things to ask about, as well as how well you interact with other members both new and old. There's a lot you could put on an application. Identifying the best candidate after the initial application would probably be to have someone who has a little too much extra time to watch them and monitor I guess what they do and how they do it. Or you could always just mark stuff that you want to know more about and message them or skype or whatever.

However I don't really like the idea of mod applications. If mod applications were just available to anyone you'd get swamped with them in minutes, but then if you were just sending them out to people as you became interested in them joining the gang then it'd be kinda pointless and you'd be better suited to just outright talk about it with them.

 

[Skip Class]

I'm personally not fond of moderator applications. Coming from being in multiple forums over the years, I just haven't taken a liking to them. However, from first hand experience, I feel it does vary between different forums and for different reasonings.

As a general, applications are a lot of work. Specifically in a big forum like PC, if the announcement of Mod Applications became available, there would no doubt be lots of people applying both from people who have been here for a while and those who just want to get modded for because "being a mod on a big forum". The current h-staff have other things to do and run the forum than to just sit down and rummage through the large flock of applications the come through.

I like the whole idea that people who show a large bit of activity or helps around a lot. By choosing someone who is already active on the forum, you'll get a somewhat clear idea of what they'll be like in a moderator. You can see how they specifically contribute to the community and how their relationship fairs with people who are in specific sections or people in the forum in general and whether those people trust that person/ be relied on. That and they won't bail so easily when given the load of a moderator. here are things you can only show by doing, than by writing down on an application.

The whole idea of how the person handles the other people in the forum/section also related if they get along well with the staff of the forum. A forum works well when all of the staff have a good relationship with each other.
If a user can already talk to staff and share a good relationship with them without being on the staff, it's a lot easier to pick the person for the job compared to someone you don't know as well.

I think in the case where there is no one obvious for the job and someone is really needed for the position, I think Applications can be an exception.

If I were to make a Mod Application, I think the most important things to be placing:
Why do you want to be a mod: A lot can come from a single person's answer the their reasoning to becoming a mod.
Why they think they should be chosen: What specifically they can do to help out/ make the forum a better place etc.
How long they've been part of the forum: Age is one thing, but being a part of the community is something else really important. Why are you the right person for the job.
Timezone: It's small, but it's nice to know when specifically a person is active and when they're not.
Experience: Also not as big, but sometimes having been a moderator/staff in other places helps to know they've done already what they're applying for, or if it's their first time doing something like this.
Just Grammar and English skills within their application.
There are probably a bunch of other things I've forgotten to add, but those are some main ones~

 

[Nick]

I think they're okay for showing who is interested in becoming a moderator, but not really good for anything past that. Any question that's asked could always be answered with the frame of mind of answering the questions based on what they think they would want to hear, so asking questions seems unnecessary to me.

 

[Poki]

I'd rather just pick out a few people and ask them questions, 'cause I wouldn't make anyone a mod without knowing what they're like first.

 

[faf]

As someone who's had (some) experience reviewing mod apps, I tend to base mod applications purely based off interest. Though, I do expect people to put some effort in their apps cause I don't to just see "hey can i be mod?" However, anyone can sugarcoat and add fluff their application to attempt to get modship but be a below average moderator. I'm not saying every person whom applied will be a bad mod since you can get good candidates out of apps.

For adding questions for apps, it will mostly be what their moderating experience is, what forum(s) they want to focus and their bios. Then it's best to look at their posts, past warnings (recent warnings do hurt the chances), etc. However, there's no such thing as a perfect candidate so it's all about seeing if the pros outnumber the cons.

 

[Pendraflare]

I already made a suggestion about this some time in the fall, and responses in that thread kinda portrayed some of the problems that would likely stem from these. Smaller sites might find them necessary, but honestly I think it'd only really work for forums that don't have enough activity or lack a present mod due to others leaving.

 

[Rogue planet]

I for one would like to see members voting in mods. like that'll ever happen.
don't see the point in applications because you really only need to check around for like 10 minutes and you can see who is mod material.

I'd ask:
What's your best post in your opinion?
What's your worst post?
that's it

 

[antemortem]

Moderator applications should always pertain to a job that requires a certain skillset. If we allowed members to be admins of our social media accounts, then they would have to have good social and writing skills - the criteria shouldn't be limited to these things, but should definitely include these things - and therefore have to prove it somehow through the application through a writing sample, checklist, short answer questions, and so forth. Otherwise, I think applications would be far too subjective to be fair enough on a large-scale for a general mod position.

 

[Flushed]

Various forums have instilled the mentality that you should never ask to be a mod. In that sense, applications kinda seem like a trap haha. afaik, the most recent mod promotions were based off of other mods' observations? Staff would go to someone they think is good for the job, and from there they could establish if there's interest, etc. I think that's how it should be. A good candidate would surely draw staff's attention already, filling in applications makes it so you might have to overcomplicate things and analyze factors that aren't as relevant to the position.

 

[Cherrim]

PC did do mod applications once, and the only decent mods we got out of them were... people we had already been impressed with before the applications came in. I can't remember exactly how they went down, but I think it was a basic PM application where people answered a handful of standard questions and then if they "passed" that round, one of the S-Mods gave them a one-on-one interview and after that we voted on them. I definitely remember we got our s-mods Kayleigh, Miyu-chan (I think?), and tmbjr (I very specifically remember all of us were like "wow he'll give us everything and the kitchen sink" to his answers to the interview hahaha) through interviews, so they did work to an extent. Mind you, this was back when PC was much, much smaller. I think nowadays it would be nearly impossible to do this because of the sheer number of people. I guess if the hstaff had noooo experience with a particular forum and needed to find a mod for it, taking applications would be a way to establish a basis of candidates to sort through but it's not like it's that difficult to just shadow a forum for a week to find people for the job anyway so I think it'd be unnecessary.

Anyway! If they had to happen again, I think these are the questions I would ask:

• What can you do for [your forum] that you don't think someone else could do?
• What is the most interesting thread in [your forum] right now? (Or most interesting thread you've ever seen in [your forum].)
• On any given day, when are you usually on PC?
• If [your forum] could do a collaboration/event with another forum on PC, which one would it be? What would you do?
• What are your hobbies besides PC?
• If you were a gym leader, what type of Pokémon would you train?
• What's the best grass type Pokémon who changes form according to the weather?

Only a handful of the questions are really related to how they would mod PC... the rest are more to get to know the person. Someone who can't answer the other questions interestingly probably aren't going to be interesting enough to inspire activity and it's the person who answers the questions with intriguing or thoughtful answers who you're going to want to get to know more and put on staff. :) Any of the actual "will you be a good mod" stuff can be checked from their activity in the forum once you actually have their name down to look into them.

It also depends on the forum in question, though. I mean, if you were trying to hire someone for Chit-Chat, you'd definitely need the kind of person who inspires others to talk and open up, or you would need someone who can easily diffuse conversation that gets too trolly or out of hand. But if you were looking for a mod for Trade Corner, you probably don't care how good that person is at inciting discussion. You want someone who knows the ins and outs of trading and how to run the place efficiently. And that's why mod interviews just seem like way too much of a hassle... the people who would write the best questionnaires and know what to ask and how to ask it are probably the people who could go into the forum and pick out the best candidates without an interview anyway. Might as well skip the middle step.

 

[Her]

I don't mind the idea of mod applications as I always thought it was cute to watch unfold, but ultimately it's an inefficient process that takes up too much time. It's a shame, though. It really is adorable to watch.

 

[CoffeeDrink]

^ Exactly this for the most part. While I don't have the best track record here (For the record I still hate Florida, and I wasn't trolling. I mean it.) I've been in positions of influence else where before they inevitably succumbed under lack of involvement. I was with a community that was revived not once, not twice, but three times. For the life of me I cannot remember the name of it right now, as it's been nearly a decade since then, but it still stands to reason that some of the best moderators are the ones that tell you everything that's going down and why. While I don't expect anyone to hold anyone's hand, it's best to explain why rather than waiting for someone to ask why.

For instance, strolling in and sanitizing someone's post is unacceptable. We saw fit to tell the user to fix it, or it will be removed. We found that removing a post in it's entirety was counter productive when it was just one paragraph out of ten that violated the rules (some posts still apply to 'take this all down' i.e. "You're stupid. No you're stupid"). We didn't allow ourselves to fix it because that could have been seen as Big Brotherish but instead gave the users the chance to correct themselves. We also found it policed the forum better when we had them doing their own policing. They began to see what was being taken out and decided to leave it out to begin with.

But I digress, Moderator applications can go both ways: either they're really helpful or they're totally terrible. There never really was an in-between in the application process. But the people that were appointed came in all flavours, though. Some were good, some were bad. Some were rude, some weren't active, and some continued on like they weren't even a Moderator. So it's a mixed bag I guess.

Fun fact: I was once banned for putting my name all over a forum and declaring myself king of the forums. Long story, but in short it wasn't me that actually pulled the stunt, but a group of the others that decided to celebrate my policing them. It was just that one mod that wasn't in on it, oops. I managed to get everything all squared away, though.

 

[Alexander Nicholi]

Moderator applications, hmm…

Here are some things that should be figured out, though not necessarily asked:
Personal statistics (age, gender, name to call by, etcetera)
Activity statistics (a higher staff could be a number cruncher for this)
Personal likeability (let the rest of h-staff judge their character)

As far as what would go on an app, asking them to self-rate on the last of those three would be a good idea IMO. In addition to that, asking them why they like PC, what other obligations they have, and how long they see themselves in the position were they to be accepted.

As an applier these questions would be really tough for me, though, I have to admit. Answering honestly isn't as much of an issue as worrying whether my honest answers are the answers they're looking for. An application may be bad for those with anxiety then, I guess. :/

 

[maccrash]

I think mod applications are mostly bullshit. seeing who's interested is all well and good but a set of questions isn't going to really determine if they're "right for the job" or whatever. I imagine there's a lot more to it than that.

 

[Her]

I think mod applications are mostly bullshit. seeing who's interested is all well and good but a set of questions isn't going to really determine if they're "right for the job" or whatever. I imagine there's a lot more to it than that.

i have a titty pic saved for the day mod applications return

 

[maccrash]

i have a titty pic saved for the day mod applications return

if that's not "right for the job," then I don't know what is

 

[Her]

if that's not "right for the job," then I don't know what is

Support Double D's for D&D 2015

 

[Hikamaru]

I remember when a topic like this was last brought up, and most pointed out that mod applications mainly work depending on the forum, and here we're a really big forum so the application system wouldn't really work well here given how we'd end up with a slew of people signing them and if they didn't get mod there would be huge disappointment. Plus, the current system where higher staff vote for mods works effectively because they look into a member's activity and knowledge of the section, and while new promotions have been slower than previously as of late, it's still the best method to pick the right person for the job.

For adding questions for apps, it will mostly be what their moderating experience is, what forum(s) they want to focus and their bios. Then it's best to look at their posts, past warnings (recent warnings do hurt the chances), etc. However, there's no such thing as a perfect candidate so it's all about seeing if the pros outnumber the cons.

This was exactly what I was thinking if we did have an application process, like how for example I have had a bit of experience with moderating (even if the forums I did it on have since died from inactivity, hence there wasn't much mod work for me to do) and I do know the ins and outs of a few places around PC. But as you said, there can never be a "perfect" mod, but our higher staff always know they have confidence in whoever they pick, and that's why we've had a lot of staff successful in their roles as of late.

 

[Nick]

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